TOPIC:  Accessory Dwelling Units

 BACKGROUND/TIME FRAME:

• February 8, 2021: The Town received a complaint of a perceived accessory dwelling unit being leased within a duplex
• February 8 – 25, 2021: Town staff gathering information on Land Use and Building Codes
• March 2, 2021: Town Council Work Session to review Duplex Accessory Dwelling Units (accessory apartments) and directed to staff to move forward with the Code amendment process
• March 3, 2021: Planning and Zoning Commission discussion on Accessory Dwelling Units and allowing them in Duplexes with unanimous support of a Code amendment

SUMMARY:

• Town staff has reviewed the Dillon Municipal Code (“Code”) regarding Accessory Dwelling Units in an effort to develop an amendment to provide for accessory dwelling units in each primary unit of a duplex as was the desire of the Town Council and the Planning Commission.
• During this review the Town staff found that the Code currently references both Accessory Apartments and Accessory Dwelling Units to have the same meaning. To clarify the Code and to provide language consistent with the term most commonly used, staff will refer to them as Accessory Dwelling Units (“ADUs”) and has provided Code amendment language along those lines.
• ADUs will remain limited to the Residential Low Density (RL) Zone district and the Residential Medium Density (RM) Zone district, and the proposed Code amendment makes that clearer. Town staff does not recommend allowing ADUs in multi-family residential structures (greater than 2 dwelling units) or townhouses.
• Also while reviewing the Code in relation to ADUs, along with considering housing trends in society in general, and in acknowledgement of the significant challenges facing many communities in meeting the deficit of workforce housing, staff has developed a concept of allowing ADUs as detached accessory structures; i.e., not only in garages, but in structures designed for a dwelling purpose and constructed on a permanent foundation.
• Detached ADUs would carry with them the same requirements of a more traditional ADU. However, approval of detached ADUs would require conformance to additional criteria such as a maximum area limit of six hundred (600) square feet and increased lot line setbacks of not less than thirty (30) feet. Maximum lot coverage criteria found in the zone districts will still apply.
• All ADU approvals would still require:
  • the payment of water and sewer tap fees (EQR’s);
  • the recording of a restrictive covenant stating the unit will not be subdivided into a separate ownership unit from the primary unit;
  • the recording of a deed restricted against utilization as a short-term rental, which means it may not be rented for periods of time of less than six (6) months, and:
  • meeting several other requirements regarding size, parking, and compatibility of the unit’s design with the neighborhood and principal structure.

BUDGET IMPACT: None

A RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING AN AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 16 OF THE DILLON MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS

 ACTION REQUESTED:  MOTION, SECOND, ROLL-CALL VOTE

Resolutions require affirmative votes from majority of the members present

DEPARTMENT HEAD RESPONSIBLE: Scott O’Brien, Public Works Director 

Please refer to the following documents for more detailed information:

PZ02-21 Staff Summary

PZ 02-21 Resolution